Investing.com -- Assura on Monday rejected a £1.562 billion takeover bid from a consortium made up of Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) and US private equity firm KKR.
The proposal, which was the fourth submitted by the group, valued Assura at 48p per share. This offer, which was delivered to the company’s board on February 13, represents a 28.2% premium over the closing price of Assura's shares on that day.
Despite the premium, the board of Assura turned down the offer on February 15. Following this rejection, USS and KKR confirmed that they would no longer be pursuing a bid for Assura, either jointly or individually. This marks the end of their interest in acquiring the company for the time being.
The rejected proposal was not without its merits for Assura shareholders. The 48.0p offer was 30.1% above the average share price over the past month and 26.9% higher than the three-month average.
However, it was also 2.8% below Assura’s EPRA Net Tangible Asset Value per share, which stood at 49.4p as of September 30, 2024.
KKR had argued that the offer represented an attractive opportunity for Assura's shareholders to sell their shares at a significant premium to the prevailing market price.
In the wake of the rejection, KKR said that it would reconsider its next steps and whether it should continue engaging with Assura’s board.
However, no certainty exists that the consortium will make a firm offer. KKR is required to either announce a firm intention to make a formal offer or confirm that it does not intend to proceed by March 14, 2025.